Possibility of creating a Western Front Campaign

[WatchMan]

Slowly, but surely.

[frinik]

  Nice work Watchman!You're definitely the Man to watch!

[norm]

fantastic! Any particular reason that it was imported as German? (Just curious.)

[frinik]

  May be to make a comparison for scale with a German tank.Since the AI automatically fights any vehicle not identified by the code as a friendly if you want to put along 2 opposing vehicle you have to crew them with AI from the same side.(Just my guess probably wrong...)

[WatchMan]

Hi all! The model featured above is classified as a German unit because I'm working on a stand alone mod and had to use configurations from the basic game. As it turns out the coding for the pz4f1 was most similar to the M10, bogie suspension, similar weight, etc. And yes I included a pz4f2 in the scenario to compare dimensions, appearance and lighting. To norm, as soon as I get a fully working M10 into the game, complete with a cockpit, 76.2mm ammo specs, "Yankee sounds", meaning commander, loader, etc. sounds I will definitely start working on Sherman variants. As soon as the M10 is completely done, I'll post a down loadable test mission, so people can beta test it.


 

[WatchMan]

BTW, thanks everyone for the positive feedback, I hope with time I can create a campaign that will complement the SFK42 community.

[Kyth]

Hi WatchMan,

Keep up the good work! 

[Stig]

Very nice Watchman, very nice.

Did you use the tutorial on tank model import to do this? Can you list your toolset and a quick rundown as to your (obviously successful) production and import process?

[norm]

Looking forward to this! Will you release each Vehicle as they are completed, or as a pack?
[Edit] Just re-read your post, so that looks to me like one by one.

[WatchMan]

Hiya stig, the actual import process is based loosely on the vehicle import utility. I can't really do a decent tutorial at this point because my end goal is to have models in the game with English comment lines, accurate unit and component definitions for British, American and French forces and a host of other things.

What I can do is give a quick run down of the process I use to get test models into the game.
(This is by no means complete.)

The toolset I'm currently using is:
1) Cinema 4d for modeling and material application.
2) Photo Shop CS3 for texture conversion and other graphics file work.
3) The object and mission editor mod for SFK42 for putting models into the game.

I don't know much about 3DS Max, I have the demo but don't really use it. The reason I mention this is because the vehicle import utility uses this. The following description will use a tank as an example and references to object details will be very general due to the fact that they are defined differently depending on the 3d software you use.

1) The first thing to make note of is that your tank model will need to have object names that will work with the code scripting within SFK42. In other words your tank model may refer to the "Turret" as a Turret, but the scripting refers to it as "db_head", so name your vehicle parts accordingly.
   
    A) In addition make sure to align your axis's accordingly, most importantly your wheels.

2) When naming object parts use an existing ".go" model for reference along with the corresponding ".engcfg" file. Example: "pz4.go" file has a "pz4.engcfg" file associated with it.

   A) Directory tree:
        1) pz4.go                                       2) pz4.engcfg
         data\k42\loc_rus\go\techn\tanks       data\k42\loc_rus\levels\LEVELS\tech_cfg

3) Within the ".engcfg" files there are references to other files such as the cockpits, tread assignments etc., you'll need to adjust all these files.

4) Learn Russian, just kidding but any comments that you see in the configuration files are in Russian and it helps to convert the comments to English, just to get a better understanding.

5) Insert your model as a "MOD" and use the mod enabler to test it.

I know this doesn't do the whole process justice, but hopefully it's a start. My best advice is to mimic an existing model. In other words take a pz4 along with all the associated files and make a mod out of it, but instead of using the original "pz4.go" model make your own 3d model with the exact object names as the pz4 and insert it into the game. Example:

1) "mymodel.3ds" containing all the parts of the pz4, including crew positions and camera locations.
     A) "mymodel.3ds" converted to "mymodel.x".
     B) "mymodel.x" converted to "mymodel.go" using the object editor.


If you can do this and get a copy of the pz4 working in the game you'll have a much better understanding of how things tie together. From there you can make other models and adjust them and their configuration files accordingly.



 

[Stig]

A great addition, Watchman!!!! I suppose people who don't use 3DMax can extrapolate this and learn to import from Blender, or AC3D, or Maya, or some other tool.

Thanks for taking the time to do that: I believe this will really pay off in the end. I've been toying with the idea of fleshing out the Afrika Korps mod, and perhaps starting with the Lee/Grant series of US tanks.

[Kyth]

I've been toying with the idea of fleshing out the Afrika Korps mod, and perhaps starting with the Lee/Grant series of US tanks.

Hi,

While we're on this topic, I recently came to know about this site:

http://forums.simulation-france-magazine.com/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=2348

It appears they were working on much the same thing - it went quite a long way but then they stopped. 

(Edit)
You know, since one of the modders (FAW Saumon) is still active on that site, you might want to contact them about carrying on, where they left off...

Some of the models they did appear to include the M3 Lee, M3 Stuart, M4 Sherman, M13/40, Semovente, etc. etc...

[frinik]

Ky th it´s NSU a German team which is still working although slowly on the Desert mod. Reading the panzersim.com portal they announced a new Kursk or is it Desert map.That Francophone forum is dead .I once took part in it but left as they are way too passive ...

[Stig]

I've been toying with the idea of fleshing out the Afrika Korps mod, and perhaps starting with the Lee/Grant series of US tanks.

Hi,

While we're on this topic, I recently came to know about this site:

http://forums.simulation-france-magazine.com/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=2348

It appears they were working on much the same thing - it went quite a long way but then they stopped. 

(Edit)
You know, since one of the modders (FAW Saumon) is still active on that site, you might want to contact them about carrying on, where they left off...

Some of the models they did appear to include the M3 Lee, M3 Stuart, M4 Sherman, M13/40, Semovente, etc. etc...

Yeah, this is EXACTLY what I'm looking for...!!!! Thank you for posting that. Provided I can get over the language barrier, I might want to simply lend my meagre skills to this effort.

[scottyd2506]

I've been toying with the idea of fleshing out the Afrika Korps mod, and perhaps starting with the Lee/Grant series of US tanks.

Hi,

While we're on this topic, I recently came to know about this site:

http://forums.simulation-france-magazine.com/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=2348

It appears they were working on much the same thing - it went quite a long way but then they stopped. 

(Edit)
You know, since one of the modders (FAW Saumon) is still active on that site, you might want to contact them about carrying on, where they left off...

Some of the models they did appear to include the M3 Lee, M3 Stuart, M4 Sherman, M13/40, Semovente, etc. etc...

   Amazing !! I would not mind just a M4 Sherman model, it was the main bread and butter of the US forces on the Western front..  make shift western front missions could be made using exsisting maps we have now.

 just having a Sherman model would make it happen for now... could make a Firefly from it too for the Brits..or a 76mm Jumbo thick armor M4A3 Sherman for us who want to play it, and have a slight chance to survive.  be nice to have the Cromwell, Cruiser, Renault R35-R40, Valentine, Churchill series etc ..
  Comet and M26 Pershing would be nice, but the Bread and butter tanks M4 Sherman would be the best start, the M10, M18 and M36 tank destroyers are also great
..
  Sounds like a GREAT project.. you have my mouth watering over this, your going to make me short out my keyboard.!!

[norm]

and of course the Easy Eight!

[frinik]

Speaking of language barriers the modders of the Afrika/Desert mod are Germans not French and they speak fairly fluent English(at least some of them).They have their own website( just google it) and they can be reached on the panzersim.com forum( not the tanksim)

[WatchMan]

The Sherman "Firefly" variant WIP.

[lockie]

The Sherman "Firefly" variant WIP.

Great!
 But it looks like there's no bumping texture.

[WatchMan]

Correct, I'm holding off on the bump textures until I can tighten up the UV mapping. I'm more or less at the enjoyable part of the project where I can start refining a lot of things.